Harbhajan's inclusion crucial for India: Kumble

Bangalore, Sep 3: After Sourav Ganguly, former India skipper Anil Kumble also raised his voice to support the turbanator Harbhajan Singh as he said the experienced off-spinner deserves a place in the Indian squad for the upcoming series against Australia and England later this year.

Harbhajan, who played his last ODI and T20 in June 2011 against West Indies has been picked for ICC World T20, to be played later this month at Sri Lanka.

Kumble, who has played with Harbhajan Singh, sensed the importance of having an experienced bowler in the team.

He also added that Harbhajan could complement R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha as they needed some experience to back them when India takes on tough teams.

"Harbhajan is an exceptional bowler and he has served the country well. He should be in the scheme of things if India has to do well against Australia and England who are coming later this year. He will complement the current two spinners (Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha)," Kumble said.

Kumble, who was a part of the commentary team as a guest, spoke about India's chances and also stressed on the fact that the off-spinner should be given another opportunity to play for the country, who was at M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the second Test between India and New Zealand on Sunday.

"His (Harbhajan's) experience will be important for India against Australia and England. He has taken more than 600 international wickets," said Kumble.

With India playing 8 matches this season, after New Zealand series, Dhoni's men cannot bank on R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha alone for all the three formats, which also suggests that Harbhajan who has had a good county season, would defnitely be of great help to the team.